Sox DVD gets red carpet premiere in Boston

Tuesday

Nov 27, 2007 at 12:01 AMNov 27, 2007 at 1:48 PM

At the Wang Theatre Monday night, a handful of Sox luminaries and a large contingent of the Fenway faithful watched the first public viewing of Major League Baseball’s official DVD chronicling the 2007 baseball playoffs and the Red Sox’ victory.

Julie Jette

Tom Brady and the Patriots have gone a long way toward turning New England’s attention away from the Red Sox’ own spectacular season in the month since the local nine won the World Series.

But at the Wang Theatre on Monday night, it was Red Sox 2007: The Replay.

A handful of Sox luminaries and a large contingent of the Fenway Faithful were on hand to watch the first public viewing of Major League Baseball’s official DVD chronicling the 2007 baseball playoffs and the Red Sox’ victory.

Many Sox players having left for warmer climes right after the victory parade held two days after the World Series ended, the red carpet was sparsely populated Monday night. Pitchers Curt Schilling and Manny Delcarmen were the only current players in attendance. Manager Terry Francona signed autographs for fans on their way into the theater.

General Manager Theo Epstein did not attend. But the ubiquitous Dropkick Murphys, whose “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” provided closer Jonathan Papelbon with the soundtrack for his victory jigs, did.

Fresh off his appearance as grand marshal of the Christmas Festival Parade in Quincy on Sunday, Schilling – a prolific blogger – looked like he needed a press pass to get into the event.

In blue jeans and a blue plaid shirt, he joked onstage about “not getting the clothing memo.”

Francona told reporters that he didn’t plan to spend a lot of time over the winter watching the DVD.

“For me personally, living through it was more fun,” Francona said. “The journey for me is the really special part, going there with people you really care about.”

The premiere was particularly sweet for fans who had worried that they might not see Schilling or World Series MVP Mike Lowell in Sox uniforms again. The event would have taken on an entirely different tone had the Sox failed to sign the two free agents.

Lowell highlights got some of the biggest cheers of the night. And Schilling had an emotional moment when he told the crowd, “Thank you for allowing my family and I to spend the last year of my professional career at home.”

“They didn’t want to leave Boston,” Sox President Larry Lucchino said on the red carpet. “They know how great it is here.”